Dark Chocolates Are Uniquely Tasty And Healthy At The Same Time

By Author: Russ Murray
Total Articles: 310
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Dark chocolate cocoa powder has immense amount of antioxidant activity. According to the MD chocolate researcher, Dr. Sue Williams of Baylor University Medical Centre, (who makes and sells her own fabulous chocolate) dark chocolate cocoa powder has 510 milligrams of the flavanols, per 100 grams than the following well-known antioxidant foods which particularly weigh in at the following flavanols numbers: apples 110 mg, cherries 96 mg. brewed black tea 65 mg. or red wine, 65 mg.
The antioxidant activity is measured in ORAC units. The ORAC score per 100 grams of the unprocessed raw cacao is 28,000. Acai is 18,000, Strawberries are 1,540, and spinach is 1,260. The score for the usual manufactured dark chocolate is still 13,120, which is still very high. In case of milk chocolate, the score goes down to 6,740. The high antioxidant levels provide the chocolate with its anti-aging and extremely anti-inflammatory properties. And cocoa is indeed a rich source of the various minerals like magnesium, sulphur, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium, and manganese, and some of the B Vitamins.
But who would think that the chocolate ...
... would lower the blood pressure level? By far the most favourite premium cocoa powder study was done in the year 2001 at the Harvard Research centre. The head researcher Dr. Norman K. Hollenberg, MD, professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School was inspired by learning about the residents of a Panama island who almost never developed the medical problems of high blood pressure, and drank five cups of a cocoa a day. When they left the island and their cocoa, they were very vulnerable to the high blood pressure. He wanted to find out why, so he gave Boston volunteers the cups of the cocoa, either with the high levels of the flavanols or the low levels. The people with the high level of cocoa showed more of the nitric oxide activity which very much lowers the blood pressure very effectively and also very well promotes the cardiovascular health in a major way.
Other studies have also very effectively shown that phenyl ethylamine in the cocoa powder has immense amount of antidepressant value, and that chocolate even has a cavity-fighting compound, the bromine which may be just as good as fluoride at hardening the tooth enamel. Unfortunately, most of the chocolate has lots of sugar, so that promotes the tooth decay.
There are some suggestions for enjoying the health benefits of the premium cocoa powder:
First of all use the organic, dark chocolate. Amazon has numerous brands listed under the natural cocoa powder. The commercial cocoa, candy bars and the chocolate syrups are not going to do it for you. The way they are processed removes most of the flavanols contained in it.
Russ Murray is the owner of this website and writes articles for his own website. For further details about premium cocoa powder and cocoa powder please visit the website.